Beaming, he went around to the far side of his desk, behind which was a small pile of chocolate boxes-Turtles. He handed one to Celia. "In honor of my grandson who"-Sam consulted his watch-"is now twenty minutes old.”
For the moment, her seriousness evaporated.”Sam, that's wonderful news! Congratulations!" "Thank you, Celia. I know it's usually fathers who do the cigar- and-chocolates routine, but I decided to begin a new tradition to include grandfathers.”
"A damn good tradition!" Nicholson, the manufacturing chief, said, and Celia added, "The Turtles were thoughtful-they're my favorites.”
She noticed that Bill Ingram, looking slightly pale, had stopped smoking his cigar. She asked, "Is everything okay with Juliet?" "Absolutely," Sam said happily.”I had a call from Lilian at the hospital just a few minutes before you all came, which is how I got the good news-'mother and a seven-pound baby boy, both doing well.' " "I'll go to see Juliet myself," Celia said.”Probably tomorrow.”
"Fine! I'll tell her to expect you. I'll be leaving for the hospital myself right after this meeting.”
It was clear that Sam was on a euphoric high. Dr. Starbut asked, "Why don't we postpone?" "No," Sam said, "we may as well get this over with.”
Then, glancing at the others, "I assume it won't take long.”
Vincent Lord said, "No reason why it should.”
Celia had a sudden sinking feeling, a conviction that all of this was going wrong, that the juxtaposition of the Montayne issue and Sam's grandchild was the worst thing that could have happened at this time. Sam's happy state, which others here were sharing, would eclipse their seriousness of purpose. Preceded by Sam, they moved to an office conference area, arranging themselves in chairs around a table. Sam was at the head. Without preliminaries, clearly wishing not to waste time, he began. "Celia, I sent a copy of your memo, late this morning, to everyone who's here. A copy went also to Xav Rivkin, who was about to leave on a two-day trip to Washington, which he offered to postpone so he could be with us; however, I assured him that would not be necessary.”
Sam moved his gaze around the table.”Has everyone read what Celia wrote?" There were affirmative nods and murmurs. Sam acknowledged, "Good.”
Celia, having drafted it carefully, was glad her memorandum had been read. In it she had referred to the Australian court proceedings concerning Montayne, setting out the facts that she had discovered during her reading of the trial transcript and that had not appeared in the summary version circulated through the company earlier. She also described the recent French and Spanish incidents which had resulted in accusations against Montayne, accusations receiving publicity in France-Soir and probably elsewhere. Finally, she explained the reasoning of Gironde-Chimie and the French company's conviction that all three allegations about Montayne were unjustified and need not cause alarm. What Celia did not do in her memorandum was offer any conclusions of her own, leaving those for this meeting, after hearing what others had to say. "Let me state right away, Celia," Sam said, "that you were absolutely correct in bringing these matters to our attention. They are important because others will hear of them and we must be ready to tell our side of the story-the true side-when Montayne goes on sale three weeks from now.”
He looked questioningly at Celia.”I'm sure that was your objective. Right?" The query was unexpected and she answered awkwardly, "Well, that is part of it...”
Sam, still in a hurry, nodded and went on.”Let's clear up something else. Vince, why wasn't I told of those Gironde-Chimie reports Celia referred to?" The research director's face muscles twitched.”Because, Sam, if I sent you every query that comes in concerning all of our products, in the first place I wouldn't be doing my job of assessing what's important scientifically and what isn't, and in the second you'd have a stack of paper on your desk so high you'd get no other work done.”
The explanation appeared to satisfy Sam because he instructed, "Give us your opinion of those reports.”
"They're both self-canceling," Lord declared.”They show, with a thoroughness that satisfies me entirely, that Gironde-Chimie's conclusion about the non-involvement of Montayne in either incident is correct scientifically.”
"And the case in Australia? Do those extra points Celia raised have any bearing on the earlier conclusion?" Celia thought: We're sitting here, all of us, speaking casually of "incidents" and "cases" and "conclusions" when what it's really about--even if Montayne is not involved-is babies who'll be "vegetables" throughout their lives, unable to walk or even move their limbs or use their brains in any normal way. Are we really so indifferent, or is it fear that stops us from using the real, unpalatable words? Perhaps, too, we're relieved those babies are in distant places, and we shall never see them... unlike Sam's grandson, close at hand, whose birth we're celebrating with chocolates and cigars. Lord was answering Sam's question, his displeasure with Celia only thinly veiled.”Those 'extra points,' as you choose to dignify them, change nothing whatsoever. In fact, I fail to see the slightest reason for bringing them up.”
There was an audible murmur of relief around the table. while we're here, though, and for the record," Lord continued, I’ve prepared a commentary, from a scientific viewpoint, of the three incidents- Australian, French and Spanish.”
He hesitated.”I know we're in a hurry...”
Sam asked, "How long will it take?" "I promise to be no more than ten minutes.”
Sam glanced at his watch.”Okay, but limit it to that.”
This is all wrong! Celia's mind was pleading, silently and frantically. This entire issue is too vital, too important to be hurried in this way. But she checked her racing thoughts, concentrating instead on Vincent Lord's words. The research director was at once authoritative, convincing, reassuring. Examining the backgrounds of the three defective babies and their parents, one by one, he pointed out how any one of many causes may disrupt a normal pregnancy, causing damage to a fetus. In particular, "an unregulated mix of chemicals in the human body, especially drugs and alcohol together," could have disastrous effects, of which examples were tragic and frequent. In all the cases under review, Lord argued, there were so many adverse possibilities, some of them compelling, that it became unreasonable and non-scientific to blame Montayne, especially when the worldwide record of Montayne was so immaculate and other probabilities so strong. He used the words "hysteria" and "probable fraud" in describing attempts to pin responsibility on the drug, plus the accompanying publicity. The other men listened gravely and seemed to be impressed. As perhaps they’re right to be, Celia thought. She wished she could be as unequivocal and confident as Vince. She truly wanted to be, and recognized that Lord's qualifications to make the judgments he had were far greater than her own. Yet she, who until only yesterday had been one of Montayne's strongest supporters, simply wasn't sure. Lord concluded eloquently.”With any new drug that is introduced, there are always claims that it is doing harm that adverse side effects exist, outweighing benefits. Such claims may be responsible and based on genuine concern by qualified professionals, or they may be irresponsible, made by unqualified people, based on nothing. "Yet each submission, both in the public interest, and to protect companies like ours which cannot afford to produce a dangerous drug, must be examined carefully, unemotionally, scientifically. For -make no mistake!-no complaint, no criticism concerning any pharmaceutical product can be totally ignored. "What must be determined, of course, is whether an adverse reaction in someone who has taken a particular drug is from that drug or from some other source, remembering there are many sources where adverse happenings can originate. "Well, I am satisfied that the most careful examinations have been done in the instances we are discussing. The charges have been examined and the bad effects described did not, it has been found, originate with Montayne. "Finally, there is one more fact it is essential to remember: If a drug should be falsely blamed for an adverse effect it has not caused, and because of that false accusation be withheld from general use, then countless people would be deprived of its therapeutic benefits. In my opinion they should not be so deprived of the benefits of Montayne.”